General Description:

Womas belong to the genus Aspidites and differ from all other pythons except black-headeds by the absence of heat sensing labial pits. Womas are a medium sized python with dark eyes, quite stout body, short tail, slender yellow to orange coloured head which is slightly set off from the neck, a quite pointed snout and alternate dark and light coloured banding. Womas can be ravenous feeders and, like black-headeds, have an incredible feeding instict that can become rather aggressive once the first prey item is eaten. Hatchlings generally feed readily on rat pinks or fuzzy mice, in the wild they will also consume reptiles.

Natural Habitat

Womas are is found in drier parts of the mainland of Australia, inhabiting desert areas of every mainland state except Victoria. There are numerous populations of this species, each having their own distinguishing features. The 3 most commonly accepted forms are the Northern Territory or Tanami Desert form, the South Australian form (which grows to nearly 3m) and the endangered South Western Australian form. The most obvious difference between these and melanocephalus is the lack of a black head and neck. These snakes often subdue their prey by pressing it against the wall of a burrow when space will not allow it to constrict in the normal manner. Most wild caught adults have extensive scarring possibly from prey retaliation. These snakes are docile, hardy captives and seem to be more active in habit than their blackheaded cousins. While not as contrasting as the blackheaded python, some womas can be extremely beautiful snakes and quite a few of these snakes have Hi- contrasting cream and chocolate bands, and bright yellow or orange heads, even as adults.

Captive Husbandry

Woma husbandry is fairly straightforward. I house my womas in 4 foot vision vivs, with Aspen shavings as a substrate, and a cork bark hide. I provide a small heavy water dish as they like to move things about in their vivs. A thermal gradient is provided for them as with all my reptiles, with a basking spot up to 34 degrees celcius with the cool end of the cage at about 29 degrees celcius. I house my womas separately, and only introduce them for breeding.Womas can be raised to 4 feet plus in their first year. They have been successfully bred at 18 months old, but realistically 2 1/2 years or more is a better time for the animal to reach sexual maturity, regardless of their body size Womas, like Blackheaded pythons will mate outside the normal
breeding season, but it is very rare for this to come to anything. Womas are a hardy snake that usually do very well in captivity. They have no special humidity requirements and are generally very low maintenance. They usually have a gentle disposition, except when feeding. As with all reptiles there are exceptions to this rule.